Pick a side in the state fruit debate: Is Michigan a cherry or blueberry state?

Next week, we will find out what has the more powerful lobbyists in Lansing, the cherry or the blueberry.

The Senate Government Operations committee is set to debate two bills on Tuesday that would designate either the cherry or the blueberry as the official state fruit.

Senate Bill 259, sponsored by Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, would make the cherry the state fruit. Senate Bill 515, sponsored by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, would designate the blueberry as the official state fruit.

Before we go any further, let’s stop and appreciate the fact that we have here a blue Democrat wanting to make a red fruit the state fruit, and a red Republican wanting to make a blue fruit the state fruit.

That is just too juicy of a detail to let go unnoticed.

(To be fair, the cherry bill is co-sponsored by six of Warren’s colleagues, including two Republicans - one of whom is Sen. Howard Walker, R-Traverse City, home to the National Cherry Festival.)

Not only do these bills set up a debate among fruit lovers, but they will also undoubtedly create divides among lawmakers from the northern part of the state, where cherries are king, and the west side of the state, where blueberry farms are plentiful.

Messages left with the heads of the Cherry Marketing Institute and the Michigan Blueberry Advisory Committee were not returned Friday, presumably because the groups are busy gearing up for what will be a hotly debated committee hearing.

Since they were not available for interviews, I did a little investigative reporting on my own to see if I could figure out what is behind these bills.

Joe LeDuc, president of the Michigan Blueberry Advisory Committee, has donated $575 to Schuitmaker’s campaign since 2005, according to the state’s campaign finance records. Philip Korson II, executive director of the Cherry Marketing Institute, has not donated to Warren’s campaign, though he did give $500 to Democrat Mark Schauer’s gubernatorial campaign.

While the bills are only up for debate on Tuesday, and a vote is not expected, it is unclear what the House would do if one of the bills is ultimately approved in the Senate.

Ari Adler, press secretary for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said his boss loves all Michigan fruits equally and would give either bill its due diligence.

But the House has yet to give its own bill on this matter its due diligence. In January, Rep. Dian Slavens, D-Canton, introduced House Bill 4007 to make the tart cherry the official state fruit of Michigan. That bill has been wallowing in the House Government Operations committee without a hearing.

“We’ve been a little busy,” Adler deadpanned.

I will do my best to attend Tuesday’s hearing and report on this debate, in part to hear the reasoning behind each fruit’s case to be given such an important status, but mainly in the hopes that both sides in the debate bring samples for the audience to taste.

Also up for discussion at Tuesday’s hearing is Senate Bill 0571, sponsored by Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Detroit, which would designate Mackinac Island fudge as the official state sweet.

So far, there is no competing legislation for the state sweet; I think reasonable people can agree that Johnson has made a pretty solid choice.